The View From Abroad: Obama's Been "Lucky"

But, is America ready to roll the dice again?

The UK Telegraph has a story today on how Barack Obama is seen by our British allies.

Sir Nigel Sheinwald, ambassador in Washington since last year, delivered his unvarnished assessment of the White House front runner in a seven-page letter to the Prime Minister

Sheinwald describes him as "aloof" (the country needs more "loofs") and someone who was "...finding his feet, and then got diverted by his presidential ambitions". As far as Obama's "elitism"? Such charges "are not entirely unfair". Ah, those Brits! Damning with faint praise!

He highlights luck as a key factor in Mr Obama's rise. "He was certainly lucky in having Democratic and Republican opponents for the US Senate in 2004 who were tarnished. He was lucky that Hillary Clinton had such a bad organisation in the primary campaign, and took so long to respond to Obama's threat."

I would add that a little old fashioned Chicago-style politics and dirty tricks added to the "bad luck" of his state and US Senate opponents. Maybe the Brits were just to polite to say it?

Cross Posted at Say Anything